Electrical supply system for railways



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 1.

- J. W. BATES.

ELECTRICAL SUTPLY SYSTEM EOE EAILWAYS.

No. 503,556. Patented Aug. 15,1893.

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a t e e h s s t e Dv h s 2 S. E T A DD J. m.. d o M 0 ELECTRICAL SUPPLY SYSTEM POR RAILWAYS.

No. 503,566. Patented Aug. 15, 1893.

i. upon the car.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JOSEPH W. BATES, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

ELECTRICAL SUPPLY SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 503,566, dated August 15, 1893. Application filed February 8, 1892. Serial Nth/120,698. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern..-

Beit known that I, JOSEPH W. BATES, of Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented a certain Improved Electric Street-Railway System, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a novel, economical and eiiicient electric street railway system and the primary object of the invention is to do away with underground conduits and the attendant great disadvantages following upon such constructions and also the high, awkward and expensive poles used for suspending ordinary overhead trolley wires,thereby avoiding all dangerl of falling wires and of short circuits. I substitute in place of the ordinary continuous current supplying conductors or Wires a series of normally insulated contacts arranged at considerable distances apart and elevated from one to three feet above the surface of the road thereby withdrawing all contact above the highest possible surface water level and my invention consists further in various constructions and combinations hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

My invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a street car provided with a long contact shoe and also two of my low posts wherein the contacts are arranged. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof in section on the line ocof Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an inside elevation of one of my posts, portions of the same being broken away for clearness. Figa is a vertical section thereof on the line y-y of Fig. 3 and shows the contact shoe in cross section and the yielding contact device in the post in position to conduct the current from the feed wire into the shoe and thence to the electrical apparatus Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the head of the post showing the contact device in its normal position. Figs. 6 and 7 which are respectively vertical and horizontal sections of the post show a modified form of contact device therein. Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate a similar device adapted to be placed between the tracks of a double road.

As shown in the drawings, the posts 2 are arranged at one side of the track 3 and as shown in Fig. 3 a feed wire pipe 4 is arranged just beneath the surface of the road through which the feed wire 5 passes. Each of these posts has a base 6 secured upon a firmly set box 7 which may be secured upon the end of a tie and which is preferably water tight. On the upper portion of the hollow post is a somewhat larger head 8 open on the inner side and provided with the flaring edges 9.

In the posts I arrange the arm lO pivoted on the bolt 11 insulated from the post. The upper end of the arm is formed in a yoke 12 to receive the contact rollerl or wheel 13 and a coiled spring 14 separated from the back of the yoke by a block of insulating material eX- tends between said back and the outer wall 15 of the head. This spring is adapted to force the arm forward into the position of Fig. 5 so as to hold the contact spring 16 normally away from the contact block 17 with which block the feed wire is connected by the wire 18 extending up through the post. A modified form of this head is shown in Figs. 6 and 7 where the contact device consists in the short arm 20 pivoted on the upright spindle 21 fastened in the blocks 22. On the rear end of this arm 20 I arrange a contact spring 23 adapted to make contact with a block 17 the same as the block of Figs. 4 and 5. A coiled spring 25 arranged around the spindle 21 and having its end fixed respectively in the block 22 and the arm 2O at all times holds the arm against the edge 26 of the opening in the post thereby withholding the spring 23 from contact with the block or plate 17.

A still further modification is shown in Figs. S and 9 where the post is open on both sides and has the flaring edges for each side. This post is adapted to be set between two street railway tracks and its arms 27 and 28 extend through opposite sides being held in the position shown by opposingly arranged coiled springs 29 and 30 arranged about its spindle. When the arms are operated in the direction of the full line arrows a circuit will be completed through the contacts 31 making contact with the blocks 32 insulated from the posts and connected with the feed Wire. When the arms are forced in the opposite direction contact will be made with the other end of the spring 31 and the block 33. The heads of these posts rise about two feet or more IOO above the road bed and the contacts therein are adapted to be forced back by the shoe 84 arranged on the side of the truck of the street car. This shoe is shown in plan section in Fig. 2 where it will be'seen that its ends are rounded or curved. In the shoe I arrange the contact strip or rail 35 from which suitable connections extend to electric machinery upon the car. This shoe shown in cross section in Fig. 4 has its upper and lower plates extending out a considerable distance beyond the contact plate 35, injury to a person by contact with the rail being thus avoided. This shoe is supported upon the side of the car by brackets 37 arranged to fit in pockets 38 arranged on the car truck and having strong cushion springs 39 to take up the sudden shock occasioned by the impact of the shoe against the pressure of the heavy spring in the post, which springs are strong enough to prevent the contact arm being pushed back by hand. Where only a single track is einployed the sockets 38 are arranged at each side of the car so that the shoe may be taken off one side of the car and placed on the other after the car has been turned around at the end of the line. These posts may if desired be arranged at less distances apart than the length of the shoe upon the car so that the shoe will at al1 times be in contact with at least one post and thereby furnishing a continuous current to the electric motors of the cars. Or in place of this arrangement the posts .may be placed at irregular distances to accommodate street crossings, &c., and a storage battery 40 arranged upon the car to supply current to the motors at such times as the shoe is out of contact. In this case the storage battery would be arranged in the supply line extending from the shoe to the motor, switches, &c., being provided so that the battery would receive current from the several post contacts or circuit closers thereby keeping the battery at all times fully charged. Still another arrangement which I employ is practically a storage battery system the contact posts being arranged at greater distances apart, say at each street intersection. The storage battery and the motor are arrangedV upon the car in the same manner and larger conductor wires are employed on the car and A high voltage is employed in the feed wire so that as the car passes a post the storage battery will be sufficiently charged to carry the car the next block, the contact shoe on the car being long enough to insure sufficient time for the proper charging of the storage battery. f

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination with a track, and an electric mctor car to run thereon, of a series of short posts arranged along the side of said track, and projecting above the same each of said posts having a hollow head provided with ranged on said car to drive the saine, i shoe arranged upon the side of the vcar and on said car, i' the side of the car, said shoe adapted to be placed upon either side of said car, buer springs arranged between the shoe and the car, the insulating covering of said shoe, the jinsulated contact rail arranged therein, an electrical connection between said shoe and an opening in its inner side, a yielding contact device arranged in said post and projecting through said opening, a stationary contact arranged in the post to be engaged by said yielding contact, a feed Wire connected p with the stationary contacts of said posts, and a contact shoe carried on the side of the car and adapted to project into the openings in the posts to successively close the yielding contacts upon the stationary contacts, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the track and the car to run thereon of the electric motors ara long having a contact rail in electrical connection with said motor, and a series of short posts arranged at the side of the track and each provided with a pivotal spring arm normally projecting through the side of the post, a stationary contact arranged in each post to be arm is forced back by said shoe, and a feed wire extending between the several posts and electrically connected with the stationary contact or contacts of each post, substantially as described.

3. The combi-nation with the street car track and the car, of the electrical apparatus a long contact shoe carried on said apparatus, and a series of posts arran-ged along the track and having exposed circuit closing devices projecting through the sides of said posts to be engaged by said shoe,.substantially as described.

4. The combination with theA double track, of a series of posts arranged between said tracks, said posts each provided with a head having openings through its two sides, and a spring pivoted arm having its ends projecting through said openings and toward each track, -stationary contacts arranged in said posts, said contacts arranged on said arm to engage the same when said arm is f tially as described.

in connect-ion with the post circuit closers. 5,

operated, substan- 5. The combination with the feed wire, of

i a series of posts rising above the surface of the road, each post provided with a head havlng liarlng edges 9, and an opening' in its side, a spring contact device in said post, the antij friction roller or wheel thereof, the stationary contact, the track, the car, and a shoe carried on said car to engage said roller, said feed wire being connected with said stationary contact, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the track, and the car to run thereon, of a contact shoe carried on said car in connection with the electrical apparatus thereon, a series of short posts arranged along the track and each having a hollow open sided head, insulating blocks in p engaged by the pivotal arm thereof, when said IOO each head, a short vertical shaft journaled back by the pressure of said shoe, substan- Io therein, a contact arm on said shaft projecttially as described.

ing from the opening in the head, a spring In testimony whereof l have hereunto set coiled about said shaft anl tending to revolve my hand this 3d day of February, 1892.

5 the same, a stop for sai arm, an insulated stationary contact arranged in said head and JOSEPH W BATEb connected with the feed Wire, and a contact In presence ofspring provided on said arm to engage the C. G. HAWLEY, stationary contact when the arm is forced F. S. LYON. 

